The World Knows
by NeneJPhilly
Summary: It's time for the world to meet the tiny titans. (oneshot) (Love You Universe) (COMPLETE)


Changeling put his hologram ring on & watched his skin turn from leaf green to gold metal tan with hints of pink. His hair turned dark blonde & his nails turned white.

He flexed his hands before leaving the room. He rode the elevator down to the garage where he got on his motorcycle & drove down the tunnel. He rode through the streets of Jump City until he reached his destination.

He got off the bike & went inside. He grabbed a cart & went through the aisles of the local shopping market, pulling out the list Raven had given him.

He stopped in the aisle that housed jams, jellies & preserves. She liked all three but her all-time favorite would always be jam. He picked up strawberry & seedless raspberry. He picked up an apricot for the house.

Done in that aisle, he headed to the bakery aisle & picked up some sprinkles for Starfire & Christopher, vanilla butter cream frosting for Bumble Bee & hot cocoa mix for Jinx. He drove his cart to the frozen aisle & picked up Salted Caramel Potato Chip for Bumble Bee, Strawberry Jam Cheesecake for Raven & The Howling Wolf for Terra; all from Blue Goat Ice Creamery.

Then he went to get chocolate dipped banana slices for Cyborg & Calvin. He looked over the list & saw he had everything so he went back to the bakery aisle for chocolate chips for his daughter.

He went to the self-checkout & scanned all of his items then used the team's bank card to buy it. He placed paper bags inside plastic bags & loaded things up by temp. He left the store & put the bags' handles on the handlebars of his motorcycle before climbing on & putting his helmet on.

He drove to the library & went inside to use Raven's library card to get the books she had on hold. He had a library bag so he used it to load them up then left. He'd done everything on his list.

He got back on his bike & rode back to the tower. He climbed off the motorcycle & put his helmet up before taking the bags upstairs to the kitchen. He unpacked the bags then put them up.

He heard the elevator doors open & light footsteps. He turned to the door to see Nightwing coming in. "Sup?"

Nightwing nodded. "Hey. Have a good ride?"

"Yeah. I'm calmer now."

"I know tomorrow is going to be a hassle but we need to get it over with." Nightwing sat in his chair.

"I don't want her getting mobbed. I want her to still be a kid. Is that weird?"

"No. I (& Starfire) have decided to homeschool Chris. We don't want him getting hurt either. Plus our secret identities. It's all a mess & we should have thought about this when we adopted them."

"We didn't exactly have a lot of time. We had like twelve hours to make a decision." Changeling leaned against a counter & crossed his arms.

"I know. It's just a lot of things that we didn't think through when we got them. It's a lot harder than we expected."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying there should be a rule book for them. If there were clear cut rules on what to do in these situations, I wouldn't be confused all the time."

"Wait a minute! You're confused?! I thought it was just me!"

"You're confused, too?! You seem so… in tune with her!" Nightwing was happy he got it.

"I'm wingin it!"

Nightwing laughed. "This is great. Do you think Cyborg feels this way?"

"Feel what way?" Cyborg asked.

Nightwing turned. "We were talking about the kids. Do you know what you're doing or-?"

"Nope!" Cyborg cut him off. "I'm wingin it!"

Changeling laughed. "That's what I said!"

"Why are you guys talking about the kids? Freaked out about tomorrow?"

"Yes." Nightwing expressed.

"Totally." Changeling answered.

"For what? We rarely leave the tower with them anyway." Cyborg shrugged. "No one can mob them if we never leave the house."

"How do you know what we were worried about?"

"Just a guess." Cyborg went to the fridge for something to drink. "Another guess, you're worried about them being normal kids?"

"Are you a mind reader?!" Nightwing gaped.

"I worry about it, too. I don't want Cal growing up anything like I did. I want him to grow up to be a well-adjusted individual."

"I understand that. I wake up in the middle of the night with these weird nightmares of Chris growing up & becoming the new Batman."

Changeling & Cyborg fell out laughing.

"I'm serious."

They didn't stop laughing.

Cyborg tried to reign it in. "Don't freak out about it. You'll stop him from ever being like Bruce if you see the slightest hint of him acting like him. You'll nip that in the bud so fast, he'd never think of wantin to be like him."

"Are you sure? Because he's into everything Batman. His pajamas, his Halloween costume, some of his Christmas presents, he would want bat shaped pancakes if you knew how to make them!"

"I could probably make bat shaped pancakes."

"Cy…"

Cyborg chuckled. "Point is… you're worried for nothing. Batman isn't his dad; you are. He's going to look up to you. He's going to want to emulate you. You're going to be his hero."

"I can only hope so. That's a problem in & of itself. I might just be as bad."

"No way!" Changeling denied. "You're totally patient with Chris. Any time he asks you a question, you have an answer. You tuck him in at night. You read him stories, you play with him, you take him to school. You spend time with him. Did Bruce ever spend time with you?"

"We went on missions."

"That's not spending time together; that's going on missions." Cyborg shook his head. "Did you ever play football or do homework or cook together?"

"No." Nightwing thought about it. "I _do_ do a lot of stuff with him."

"You're going to make your own mistakes. He's going to grow up great & not even the press is going to mess him up."

"Thanks, Cyborg. You've really got a handle on this. I thought you said you were winging it?"

"I got this from Bee last year. She was all about me not tripping about being like my dad." Cyborg shrugged.

"She's smart." Changeling said.

"Don't ever tell her." Cyborg rolled his eyes. "She'd never shut up about it."

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Bumble Bee sighed. Calvin was being impossible! She was trying to dress him nicely but he would not sit still for her to dress him or he'd rip the clothing off as soon as she put them on him.

Calvin smiled as he raised his arms above his head. "Mama!"

She smiled tenderly before attacking him with clothes again. She put him in black pants & a blue shirt but he wiggled out of the pants immediately. "Cal!"

He babbled before blowing a bubble with his mouth.

She fought to get him back in the pants. "You're going to wear this!"

"Are you okay?"

She turned to the door. "Sparky! _Your_ son won't stay dressed!"

"He's only my son when you're mad at him." Cyborg came in fully.

"He won't stay dressed!" She whined & stomped a foot.

He smirked. "Calm down. It doesn't matter how he's dressed."

"Yes, it does! The world is meeting him for the first time! It reflects on me how he is & if he's taking his pants off & throwing them everywhere, _I_ look bad!"

"How?" Cyborg went over to the crib & lifted his son out.

"I'm his mother. If he's ill behaved, dirty or upset; it reflects that I'm a bad mother."

He let Calvin chew on his finger as he sighed. "You're not a bad mother. He's just a little fussy."

"He can't be. Not today." She took the baby from him. "Cal? Can you stay dressed for Mama? Please?"

Calvin touched her face before pulling on a braid. He put it in his mouth.

She took it out. "He's not going to do it."

"Stop stressing." He took the baby back. "You go get dressed, I'll dress him. What are you wearing? Your uniform?"

"No. Nightwing said it would be best if we wore civilian clothes."

"Well go. It'll take time to pull yourself together." It was quiet for two seconds as she looked at him darkly. "I mean for you to- I mean it'll take no time at all for you to look picture perfect."

"Uh huh. Nice save." She gave him a look before leaving.

Cyborg looked to his son. "That was a close one."

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Starfire clapped her hands together. "I am unsure if I am doing this correctly, Christopher."

"You got it, Mommy." Christopher promised as he taught his mother _Patty_ _Cake_.

"I hope so." As soon as he'd learned something from preschool, he taught it to her when he got home. "It is much harder than _the Alphabet Song_."

" _ **Patty cake, patty cake, baker man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it! Roll it! Throw it in the oven!**_ **"**

Starfire laughed. She loved that part. "This is most amusing!"

Nightwing flipped through the channels on the TV. "I can't find anything."

Changeling took the remote from him. "I'll find something." He flipped through the channels before finding some stupid children's show with socks.

Raven rolled her eyes at the show & continued reading to Charlotte.

"This is stupid." Nightwing complained.

"I found something. Better than flicking the channels." Changeling sniffed.

The common room doors opened. Cyborg stepped through with Calvin in his arms. "What's going on my people?!"

The people in the common room spoke.

He strode to the playpen & set Calvin in it before plopping down on the sofa. "What's this?"

"Dunno." Changeling shrugged.

"Where have you been?" Kid Flash asked.

"Fightin with Cal to get him dressed. Bee was right; he didn't want to get in them. Don't tell her I said that." Cyborg said.

"Said what?" Bumble Bee flew in wearing plum jeans, heeled black boots, a raspberry tee & a long striped scarf looped around her neck, hanging to her thighs.

He jumped. "Ahh! Make some noise, will ya?!"

"Don't tell me you said what? I'm the only person who wasn't in the room." She demanded.

"Fine. You caught me. I called you beautiful."

She gave him a dry look. "I wasn't born yesterday."

"Why can't you take a compliment?!"

"Why can't you be honest?!"

"Guys!" Nightwing didn't want to sit through another argument. "It's almost time for us to go outside. We should get ready."

"Are you ready to meet the media, my precious bumgorf?" Starfire asked Christopher.

"Yes!" He leapt to his feet.

She lifted him into her arms & flew to the common room door. "Would you like to fly around the island?"

"Yes!" He yelled.

"Wait!" Nightwing put a pin in that. "I don't want the kids seen before we introduce them. Fly around the training gym."

"No fun." Christopher pouted.

"Indeed, you are the no fun." Starfire agreed.

"Or you could sit here until it's time." Nightwing raised a brow.

"Take what you can get." Cyborg advised. "Fly, girl!"

Starfire left quickly.

"What time is it?" Terra asked as she tried to beat the aliens on her handheld game.

"Almost ten." Changeling answered.

"No. The conference."

"Ten." Nightwing said. "Maybe we should go out there now?"

"How close to ten is it?" Raven asked.

"Less than five minutes." Cyborg checked his arm.

"Then it wouldn't be too early."

"Okay. Let's go." Nightwing made a decision.

Raven closed the book (Charlotte pouted) & stood. Changeling dragged his long body off the sofa as Bumble Bee went to get Calvin (& noticed him in overalls). Cyborg gave Kid Flash the remote.

The five adults took the two kids to the elevator. Nightwing called Starfire as they took the lift down to the front door.

"Who's going to hold Cal & make sure the kids don't get into trouble while we're out there talking?" Bumble Bee asked.

Nightwing thought about it. "Do you want to?"

"All of us girls can."

"Not what I asked but okay. Tell Star when she gets down here. Come on, guys. We've a tale to weave."

Changeling forced a kiss on Raven before following Cyborg & their leader out.

Bumble Bee grinned. "You'd think you'd come to expect that by now. You still seem surprised."

"He's just so affectionate." Raven muttered.

"Don't you just love it?"

"The horrifying part is I do."

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It was completely silent when Nightwing finished talking. "Any questions?"

Someone was coherent enough to raise a hand. "Can we see these children?"

"Sure." Nightwing turned to Changeling. "Bring them out."

The green hero went inside. "It's time."

"How do we look?" Bumble Bee asked.

"Um… I don't know how to answer that."

"Ugh! Useless!" Bumble Bee rolled her eyes & sucked her teeth at him.

"Why are you so anxious?"

She repeated what she told Cyborg.

"Does that mean I am a bad mother?" Starfire asked.

"You can talk to Chris & get him to behave. Cal's still too young. He does what he wants."

"I'm sure Cal will behave himself. No one will think you're a bad mother." Raven assured the cocoa skinned Titan.

"If he starts to act up, I'll turn into a koala bear or spider monkey & make him laugh. Last thing we need is for lighting to strike a reporter." Changeling offered.

Bumble Bee's mouth fell open in shock. "I forgot all about his powers! He's def. going to have to be happy!"

"He will be." Raven reaffirmed.

"Come on. We gotta go." He took Charlotte from her & put her on his hip.

The group left the inside of the tower & walked into the sunlight.

Cameras went off as photographers took thousands of pictures. They began shouting questions immediately.

All of the children were shy at this barrage. They were unused to the attention & didn't know what to do with it. Each buried their faces in their parent's neck.

"Can we get a shot of their face?! We can't see!" Someone shouted.

Starfire tried to peek into her son's face. "Do you not want to wave to the media?"

Christopher shook his head. He'd never had attention like this before. He was thoroughly freaked out. "No."

"Not even a little one?"

"Will they go away?"

"I am unsure."

"No, they won't." Nightwing had overheard their quiet conversation through the din. "But the faster you act like your normal self, the faster they'll get what they want _then_ they'll go away."

Christopher thought about it. "What do I have to do?"

"Just wave."

Christopher peeked at the people wanting his attention before waving a small hand gingerly.

The crowd went nuts.

He grinned. He didn't know they'd like his waving so much! He used both hands to wave & they ate it up! He looked back at his parents. "They like it!"

Changeling, meanwhile, had been trying to pry Charlotte from his throat. "I can't breathe!"

Charlotte just clung tighter. "No!"

"Charlie, just loosen up on my neck." He tried for a softer tone. "I can't breathe."

She loosened her grip & he dragged in great gulps of air. "No. I don't wanna see them."

"Why not? They just want to take your picture. Don't you like when I take your picture?"

"That's different!" She squeaked.

"How?"

"I don't know. It just is."

Raven had been thinking the whole time. "If you give them one picture, I'll share my ice cream with you."

That caught her attention & she sat up. "Your strawberry cake ice cream?"

"Yes."

Charlotte thought it over. "Okay."

"Okay?" Changeling was afraid to hope.

She nodded. "I take the picture."

Changeling shifted her so the photographers could get a good shot of her. "Wave."

Charlotte waved the hand that didn't have a death-grip on his shirt. It was over quickly.

Bumble Bee showed Calvin off but he didn't seem to like the attention. He growled & moved his limbs irritably. She bounced with him, silently pleading for him to behave.

It wasn't working as a dark cloud moved in.

Changeling gave Charlotte to Raven & turned into a spider monkey. He climbed on Bumble Bee's back & wrapped himself around her neck to peer in the baby's face. He shrieked & waved his arms.

Calvin stopped fussing instantly & watched Changeling. The dark cloud dissipated as he clapped. A wide smile crossed his face.

The reporters loved it! They took a ton of pictures of Calvin's glee.

Bumble Bee let out a sigh of relief at his calming down. She was grateful to Changeling & resolved to bake him a cake. "See the monkey, Cal?"

Calvin babbled as he reached out to pet Changeling.

Christopher & Charlotte giggled.

A reporter waved her hand high. Nightwing nodded. "How do you like being parents? I know how hard it is. I have a three year old daughter myself."

Nightwing's lips twitched. "It's been an eye opening experience."

More hands shot up in the air.

Nightwing chose a man in a blue suit in the back. "You."

The man jostled his way to the front. "Ah, yes. What has been the biggest adjustment?"

Cyborg grinned. "Not sleeping at night."

The crowd laughed. More hands shot up.

"You." He pointed to a sharply dressed woman in front.

She smiled at him warmly (missing Bumble Bee's scowl). "What do you love most about being parents?"

Starfire accidentally squeezed Christopher. "It is the love & affection they bring."

"What are your days like?" Another woman shouted.

"It's a lot of chasing them around & cleaning." Bumble Bee said.

"I bet!" She laughed.

Changeling climbed down from Bumble Bee & shifted back. He took Charlotte from Raven & threw her in the air. She giggled & screamed with laughter.

"You." Nightwing chose another reporter.

"I bet you guys have fun. What's the funnest thing you've done so far?" A man in brown asked.

"Our bumgorf was the Batman for Halloween." Starfire said.

"Cal's learning to walk now & he pulled the blanket from under Jinx when he fell down." Bumble Bee grinned. "Stuff like that's always happening."

"We like to have fun. We do a lot of stuff." Changeling added.

"What do the other superheroes like the Justice League think of your situation?" Another reporter asked.

"We've been getting a lot of support from them." Nightwing said. "They've banded together to be surrogate grandparents for the kids."

"How have your teammates taken the changes?"

"Jinx, Kid Flash & Terra dig playing aunts & uncle." Changeling told.

"What about Titans East?"

"Some have taken to it far better than others." Raven said, thinking of Charlotte & Jericho.

"What are their ages again?"

"Three, two & eleven months."

"They're super cute." This reporter was a woman. "What are their names?"

Nightwing started. They never thought if they would tell their names. "Um… sidebar."

The Titans grouped together in a huddle. "Yes?"

"Are we telling their names?"

"Is there a downside to telling?" Changeling asked.

"Short term, I don't see any." Cyborg said.

"What about long term?" Nightwing wanted to know.

"Whenever they want to be heroes, they won't have secret identities."

"Technically, I don't." Raven pointed out.

The others stopped. That was true & Raven was still a hero.

"I guess there's no real downside to it." Nightwing said slowly.

They broke the huddle & turned to face the waiting newspeople.

He took Christopher from Starfire & set him on his hip. "This is Chris. Say hi, Chris."

"Hi!" Christopher waved.

The reporters ate it up. He was their new favorite.

"This is Charlie." Changeling hefted Charlotte high against his shoulder. "Can you say hi to the people, Charlie?"

Charlotte wrapped her arms around his head.

He grinned. "It's okay."

Cyborg took Calvin from Bumble Bee. The little boy swerved to look at the people in front of his home. "& this is Cal. Can you wave, little man?"

Calvin moved his arm in the direction of the newspeople.

"Good boy!"

"Any more questions?" Nightwing asked.

Hands waved.

"Yes, you."

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"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Raven blew on a cup of tea.

"You were out there a while." Terra noted. "They must have asked a ton of questions."

"They did." Bumble Bee put Calvin in his playpen. "They couldn't get enough of them."

"Mommy, ice cream." Charlotte pulled at Raven's hoodie.

Raven remembered her promise. "Okay." She set her mug down & got up to make the bowl.

Changeling hopped up onto the counter to watch her. "So you don't need to meditate?"

"No. This was the first press conference where I haven't wanted to destroy everyone there. It went well." Raven decided to make herself a bowl of ice cream as well.

"I'm glad. I see you're not wearing your ring."

"It looks suspect. Like an engagement ring. I wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea."

"Are you angling for a proposal?"

She looked into his serious face before it blossomed into a wide smile. "You're not funny."

His grin widened. "Don't worry. We'll be married soon."

"If that's your way of asking,-"

"It is not. I have something planned for you." He leaned to & fro.

"Why does that worry me?"

"Oh your last name is going to be Logan & soon."

"Don't threaten me."

He cut his eyes at her. "Laugh now but I'll have the last laugh when you say I do."

"Perish the thought." She shuddered. She put away the ice cream & took the bowls to their daughter.

He sat up straight. "Love you, too babe!"


End file.
